“Isn’t it cool? It has a lot of language options, too.”
“And it does a decent job translating spoken language,” added Itecho. “It gets the small nuances wrong, but it works for getting the point across. That was a good purchase, Lord Rosei.”
“Good, I can trust your judgment.”
Nadeshiko was still spinning around, looking at everything while the adults talked about the gadget.
“Do you like it?” Rosei asked, and Nadeshiko beamed like the sun.
“Yeah! Er… Um, yes, it’s very interesting…”
She quickly corrected herself to a more respectful tone for Winter.
Rosei chuckled, placed his hand on her head, and said, “You can have it.”
“L-Lord Kantsubaki, I didn’t mean to—”
Rindo was flustered, but Rosei raised his hand to stop him.
“We bought them for the escorts. Autumn shouldn’t need one, thanks to you, but let Nadeshiko play with it when she’s by herself. She’s still young, so it’ll help her learn, too.”
“That is true, but…”
It was hard to refuse a contribution to Nadeshiko’s education. And Rosei was right in saying that it could be useful when Nadeshiko would have to wait around.
Itecho encouraged him as well. “You should get one, too. They’re very useful. And if you don’t mind using your phone’s battery, there’s also an app. You can even write it off as a business expense. Mark it as consumables.”
“Lord Kangetsu…”
“Just take the gift for Lady Nadeshiko. Consider it a sign of appreciation for Winter’s junior.”
It was not such a big gift, after all. It was basically a toy for a young goddess incarnate, and Rosei knew how it felt to be alone as a child.
Rindo accepted Winter’s gift with gratitude.
“If you insist… Nadeshiko, say thank you to Lord Kantsubaki.”
“Thank you, Lord Rosei!”
Rosei smiled at Nadeshiko’s elated reply. It was an enchanting expression on him; he was a handsome young man who could stop time for people, so long as he stayed quiet. He was an extremely attractive, taciturn man whenever Hinagiku and Sakura weren’t around. He was hard to approach, but it wasn’t just that he was cold; he was a proper incarnation of Winter.
“…”
Meanwhile, Ruri was watching Autumn and Winter’s exchange with a bit of jealousy. She wasn’t inconvenienced, thanks to Raicho, but the truth was that she would have liked to use the device, too.
Her husband looked at her. “If you want one, Ruri, you can just say so.”
“N-no, I don’t.”
“They’d probably give you one. Winter seems very generous.”
Rosei noticed Ruri’s gaze, but he turned away immediately.
She pouted.
“Oh, are you fighting now? I don’t want to antagonize Mr. Kangetsu, so I’m not getting in the middle of this.”
“We’re not fighting!” Ruri smacked Raicho’s chest with frustration.
That was when Itecho gracefully handed her a spare device.
“Don’t mind me, Lord Itecho,” said Ruri. “He’ll get mad if you give me one…”
“I apologize for his childishness… He actually asked me to give you one. Just very quietly. I’ll remind him to correct his attitude later. Please forgive him. Do you want one, too, Raicho?”
“Don’t mind me. I have a similar device for myself. That aside… Mr. Kangetsu, would you mind if I ask some questions about the business expense form later? I’m no good at this sort of thing…”
“Sure. Do you use the same template? You can ask me whenever.”
The chatting continued as they made their way out of the international airport.
For safety reasons, they took multiple cars.
Nadeshiko rode with the driver assigned by Kyokoku; Rindo, Sanekazura, Shirahagi, and Hanakiri in his pet carrier. Shirahagi sat in the passenger seat, and the others in the rear, with Nadeshiko in the middle. The car felt spacious even with the four of them back there.
“Can we let Hanakiri out of his carrier in the car, Lord Azami?”
“Ah, give me a second. I’ll check.”
Rindo quickly asked the driver in Centrish, and the driver allowed it even though he was worried about the fur.
“You must’ve been so bored, Hanakiri. Look, we’re in Kyokoku.”
Nadeshiko freed her dog from the bag and gave him a few pats before holding him up to the window. That was hard to do from the middle seat, though. Sanekazura kindly let Hanakiri sit on her lap so he could enjoy the view. He watched the landscape with deep interest, his tongue lolling.
They were not currently allowed to walk around freely. They had to do their sightseeing from the black, bulletproof car Kyokoku had provided.
“It’s a nice view,” Sanekazura said, her voice full of emotion.
“Everything’s so tall—the people, the buildings, the trees.”
“I agree. I can only imagine how it feels to Nadeshiko.”
The road from the airport to the metropolis extended into the horizon, surrounded by desert and palm trees at regular intervals.
The sky was clear and blue, though here it was more reminiscent of summer than spring for a Yamatoan. There was also a clear separation between the man-made parts of the city and the natural areas.
The car sped up considerably once they reached the wide freeway. It was too fast even for Nadeshiko, who was used to car travel from her journeys across Yamato.
“The car is so fast.”
“Yes, it has a lot of horsepower. And there are so many cars on the road. Is this just how it is here, Lord Azami?”
“Kashu is a car-based society. You can’t live a comfortable life in Angel Town without one. The city is quite big, after all. That’s why there are so many lanes.”
Wide-open spaces existed in the Yamato countryside, but this was like nothing they had ever seen. It almost seemed endless.
If they ran into any trouble and had to walk back, they might as well start preparing themselves for death.
“This way of life has its downsides. Traffic jams are common. It’s especially hard to escape in the evening, when everyone is going home. That’s why we’re going at such an odd time of day.”
“Oh, that sounds terrible.”
“So now is better?” Nadeshiko said.
“Yes. It’s an ordeal getting out of a traffic jam.”
The road was wide open now, so it was hard to imagine a traffic jam, but Rindo explained that, with bad enough luck, a trip that would have taken ten minutes could end up taking over an hour.
It made them appreciate the developed public transit in Yamato.
Life in the countryside was hard without a car, but inside a big city, cars were mostly unnecessary—perhaps even a burden, due to maintenance costs. Most people naturally chose the bus, train, metro, or even bicycle instead. Rush hour was an issue in Yamato, too, but with a wide variety of options, one could choose the method that best fit one’s needs. However, due to the sheer size of the land here, and considering all trips one might make year-round, owning a car was for the best.
Public transit did exist, but as Rindo explained, it was a car society; when people considered how to most efficiently traverse these long distances, everyone naturally chose cars.
“Also, there are dangerous areas all over Kyokoku, Kashu included. That’s another reason to have cars. People who live here will tell a friend coming over to wrap up everything they need to do by eight at night and not go outside after that. Actually, six is probably better…”
“Even adults like us, Lord Azami?”
“You should be even more careful, Ms. Sanekazura. People here will think you’re a child. They already do even in Yamato, and it will be worse in Kyokoku.”
“…”
Rindo was just expressing his concern for her, but she did not take it that way and wore a flat expression. Her petite size was cute, but she was self-conscious about it.
“I know, I know, I’m small…”
She clicked her tongue.